Nico Rosberg led the way in the first practice session of the 2015 season, but as expected his Mercedes teammate and defending champion Lewis Hamilton wasn’t far behind. The Mercedes pair showed their dominance early, with a full second over third place Valtteri Bottas in the Williams.

Sauber sat out the session amidst the ongoing contract dispute with Giedo van der Garde, whilst returning team Manor were present but unable to run due to some software issues on the new/old car.

Toro Rosso put on a good show with Carlos Sainz fourth on the timesheets and fellow rookie driver Max Verstappen sixth. Sebastian Vettel split the two, in his first official appearance for Ferrari. With Fernando Alonso absent, Kevin Magnussen sat in the McLaren, finishing two tenths off teammate Jenson Button, although both were well outside the top ten.